Out of the Silence
by TheSilentQuill
Summary: AU. Speech Therapist Alexandra Redding specializes in teaching deaf children to speak. Her new client will connect her old life with her new one in the Muggle world. Deaf Harry fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters, settings, situations and the secondary world created by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter Series. I do not receive payment in any way for this work. No copyright infringement is intended. **

Two large green eyes peered around the door separating my office from the hall. They belonged to a small child. At first glance, he appeared six or seven, but according to his chart he was really almost ten. He wore a baggy grey sweatshirt, jeans that were too large for him and the most vibrant pair of lime green sneakers that I have ever seen. The sneakers looked like they had seen better days, but they also were clean, as if someone had lovingly sponged them off every day. The child had an unruly mop of black hair that stuck up every which way. He looked somewhat familiar to me, even though this was our first meeting. He was alone, which was very strange, especially since this was his first visit to my office. He didn't appear frightened, but curious. He looked around at the toys and games on the various shelves. There was a corner that contained many children's books containing bright pictures. There were posters on the wall. He took a minute to appreciate it all.

My office had been carefully designed for children. I wanted them to have happy experiences here. Many of my clientele are poked and prodded constantly. They associate the hospital with pokes, painful tugs, loud noises that hurt their ears, and constant manipulation of their mouths and tongues. I wanted my space to feel different. Apparently, I had succeeded, because even this young man realized this was a fun place, even if some of the poking and prodding did occur.

As this young man searched his surroundings, I paid closer attention to him. The baggy shirt concealed a box worn on his belt. I could see ugly white cords leading from the neck hole up to his ears. It was the oldest, ugliest hearing aide I had seen since I stated my training to work with deaf children. And that was a few years ago. The contraption this child wore belonged in a museum. I wondered where he got it. It probably wasn't doing him all that much good, since it looked like this device predated the technology needed to produce loud enough sounds without causing pain to the wearer.

In a moment, a woman with a long, bony neck and a face that somewhat resembled a horse appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a scowl and had an agitated look about her. I offered my hand. "Hello, I'm Alexandra Redding. I'm in charge of the speech clinic."

"Petunia Dursley," came the terse reply. "That's my nephew, Harry. I was told by the school to bring him here on Wednesdays. I'll pick him up in two hours. Do I have to sign anything before I go?"

Normally, a first visit with a new client involves me sitting down with the parent or guardian and explaining exactly what I would be doing. I generally use the approach that teaching a child to speak involved the whole family and my role was to show the caregivers what to do. Something told me that "Care giver" was not exactly accurate in this case. I felt a distinct negative vibe coming off of this woman. Usually I get along with almost anyone, but I realized that the sooner this woman was away from me the better.

"Yes, I need you to sign a consent form for the therapy. Did you happen to bring the medical information the school asked you to send?" Normally, I get most of my information from the parents, but my gut feeling told me this one would be of no help concerning her nephew.

She fiddled around in her large handbag, looking for the sheaf of papers. "Don't know why we bother with this. The kid's just too stubborn to talk. He can hear fine. He always does his chores when we ask. Or at least when I ask. He doesn't really respond to my husband. That's just his stubbornness. I'll pick him up in two hours. Just send him outside. I don't want to have to pay for parking." With that, she shoved a manila folder in my hand, turned around and marched out the door without so much as a glance backwards.

She really got under my skin there. One of my biggest pet peeves is adults who believe deaf children "can hear when they want to." It just proves their ignorance of these kids. They deserve better.

The boy, Harry and noticed his aunt's departure. He was reluctant to touch anything. I made a motion indicating that he could play. Instead of running towards a toy, he looked around slowly, making careful, deliberate choices. He took a step, then another, and then looked back at me, as if he was making sure I hadn't changed my mind about allowing him to touch the toys. I smiled at him and nodded my permission again. He sat down in one of the comfortable chairs that I have, and started thumbing through the books on the shelf. Selecting one about dragons, he opened it and started to gaze at the pictures.

He looked so happy and contented that I decided to give him a few minutes before we got to work. The school had sent over a thin file on the boy, listing his name as Harry Dursley, his address, phone number, age and names of his guardians. I knew not to trust all of the information, as half the time the records are filled out by an overworked, underpaid secretary who is trying to answer the phone, fill out referral forms and pour coffee at the same time. Half the records I got from that place are inaccurate. As Harry read, I decided to do some reading of my own.

The first page was his audiogram as was standard in a file such as this. Looking at the charts with their broken lines towards the bottom of the graph, I realized that the white cords hanging from his ears did absolutely nothing. I flipped through the pages, just reading the highlights, not paying attention to the details: Profound deafness of unknown cause, above average intelligence, good spatial problem solving ability, some emerging sign skills, no discernable speech. All in all, pretty generic, but at least now I knew what mode of communication they used with him at his school. It was time to begin.

I crossed over to the chair where he was sitting, and touched his shoulder to get his attention. To my surprise, he flinched violently. I'd only seen that kind of reaction once before as a student. The child's deafness had been cause by extreme physical abuse in that case. I made a mental note to look into the boy's situation, and also reminded myself not to touch him to gain his attention. I signed an apology and told him we were going to start his therapy.

"What's therapy?" he signed to me.

"I'm going work with you so you'll be able to speak."

He looked excited at this prospect, but then his face gained a thoughtful expression. "If I speak and don't sign, will I stop being a freak?" he asked me.

"Who told you that you're a freak?" He seemed like a normal ten-year-old to me, except for his small size and big clothes.

"My uncle and aunt and cousin. They say I'm a freak. Is it because I don't talk?"

I was outraged! Telling a ten-year-old he was a freak, just because didn't speak? Or did it go deeper? Something told me this child was special. "I don't know why they told you that. You're not a freak. You're a great kid. Now, let's get to work. Can you make a noise for me?"

"I'm not supposed to make noises."

"You're not supposed to make noises at home. Here, there are different rules."

We spent the next thirty minutes or so trying to get Harry to vocalize and realize when he was using his voice and when he wasn't. He worked hard and managed to get the hang of it quickly, and soon we played some games where we both would make sounds. It was a good thing that the office was soundproof, since we were kind of noisy. When our time was over, I walked Harry to the parking lot. You don't let a ten-year-old wait alone in a bad part of town.

The next few hours passed quickly. I worked with some of my regular clients and wrote reports. Finally, I had a few minutes to read the sheaf of paper. I have to admit that I just glossed over the information. I see around 30 forms a day, and most are the same. It was only when I reached a blue sheet with biographical information that I realized who I was dealing with. The school was wrong. The child with the green eyes was not Harry Dursley. He was Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: The characters, settings and secondary world portrayed in this story are the property of JK Rowling, Raincoast Books/ Schoolastic and Warner Brothers. No profit is being made. Daniel Ling's _Speech and the Hearing Impaired Child_** **does exist, and I make no money from its endorsement. **

**This work of fiction portrays an alternate universe to the one portrayed in the beloved Harry Potter Series, therefore creative license may be used in the creation of this story. **

* * *

Looking back on my life, I sometimes am amazed at the turns my life has taken. I was born into a relatively wealthy Wizarding family. We didn't have as much money as the Potters, Blacks or Malfoys, but we were comfortable. I never wanted for anything growing up. I had a good broomstick, new robes when I wanted them, and enough pocket money that a trip to Honeydukes Candy Shop usually resulted in a trip to the dentist. Mom worked in the Department of Mysteries. Dad had a seat on the Wizengamot and worked in the Magical management division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They were heavily involved in politics. Dad was the friend of a woman named Delores Umbrage. He held with her beliefs concerning half-humans, and did his part to make lives difficult for werewolves, giants and centaurs.

When I was eleven, I received my Hogwarts letter. I met Lily Evans on the train. We were fast friends, and talked the whole way to school. Lily was fascinated by the magical world, and I had a curiosity about Muggles. When we arrived at school, we were separated. Lily went into Gryffindor. The sorting hat debated for a few minutes during my sorting. I have the brains for Ravenclaw and the bravado of a Gryffindor, but what finally convinced the sorting hat was my ambition to change the world. I was placed in Slytherin, although my motive was altruistic, I wanted to succeed more than anything in the world.

During the first weeks of school, I kind of stayed to myself. The suspicious nature of most Slytherins made this a common occurrence. Everyone had one or two people they associated with, but deep friendships are not forged in the den of the serpents. We're all too busy looking out for ourselves. No one paid much attention to a loner, since we generally were alone in the crowd. For this reason, no one noticed that Severus Snape had not uttered a word to anyone in the house. Sure, he'd nod or shake his head if anyone asked him a question, or he'd raise one eyebrow. He was studious: easily the best in our year at potions and he did well in other classes as well, especially on the theory. He had a remarkable sense of concentration. He didn't even turn around when Peter Pettigrew exploded a cauldron or when James Potter and Sirius Black decided to try a new flatulence spell in Charms.

Potter and Black took offence to being ignored. They started picking on Severus. At first it was just a few verbal taunts. He rarely reacted, especially if the taunts were from across the room. Occasionally he'd try to walk away from them, only to be grabbed and shoved. Lily told me that these two only wanted to hear him defend himself a little. The taunts and teasing escalated. Pettigrew now joined in. Another boy, Remus Lupin, was also a part of the group, but he rarely joined in the teasing. Remus disappeared a couple of days every month. The story was he visited his sick mother. I wonder, did anyone else notice that he always disappeared around the full moon?

The weeks grew into months and the months became years. In my third year, our work in Charms and Transfiguration started to become less theory and more practise. I found I had a natural ability in Transfiguration. My grades became better and I started to have fun in the class. Professor McGonagall became one of my favourite teachers, in spite of the Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry. It helped that she was fair to all the students in her classes. I ended up going to her for additional assignments, so I could learn as much as I possibly could.

* * *

Around this time, Severus's marks started to falter a bit. He was still the best essay writer in the dungeons, but his practical scores were well below his ability. After about two months of watching Severus struggle, Professor McGonagall summoned us both into her office.

"I suppose you wonder why I called you two here," began our professor. Severus's only response was a terse nod. "Mr. Snape, I'm deeply concerned about your grades. You obviously have a deep understanding of the theory behind the material, yet you are not living up to your potential." Severus started to blush and lower his eyes. He didn't quite break eye contact. "Ms. Redding has demonstrated great ability in the discipline of Transfiguration. I believe she may be able to assist you. Is this arrangement acceptable to both of you?"

"Yes, Professor," I said. Severus just gave a nod.

"I'll leave it to you two to work out a schedule. You are dismissed.

As we left the office, I suggested meeting that evening. Severus nodded his assent, and we agreed to meet in the library following dinner.

When I arrived in the library, I immediately searched for Severus. He was waiting in a corner table, textbook open, and waving his wand in a flawless motion. The only thing missing was the incantation. I watched Severus for a couple minutes more and realized something: I had never heard him speak. I knew he was shy, but this was beyond being timid.

I went over to the table and sat down beside him, took out my books and wand and got ready to work. "Your wand motion is good. I know you got a high mark on the last essay, so the theory isn't a problem. Let me hear you say the incantation." Severus raised an eyebrow at me and continued to wave his wand in silence.

"The incantation is important. Voiceless magic is really advanced. They don't start that until sixth year here." Again, Severus swished his wand and didn't say a word.

"You know, I haven't ever heard you talk. Are you that shy that you can't speak in front of someone? Can you even talk at all?" As a typical Slytherin I tried to bait him into speaking. Instead of yelling at me as I expected, Severus blushed deeply, looked at his shoes and shook his head.

He couldn't speak? No wonder he had problems in his classes! He didn't quite have the power needed for voiceless magic at his age. Even though he couldn't answer me out loud, I couldn't help but challenge him. "Why not?"

He raised that eyebrow gain and looked at me in thought. He then took out a quill and a long roll of parchment and started to write.

_I can't speak because I can't hear. People learn to talk by imitating others. I have nothing to imitate._

"How do you understand what's going on in class then?"

_I learned to speechread. My father insisted so I could understand him. With magical people, I get an idea of what they're saying, but I have to guess for Muggles. Before you say something stupid, NOBODY knows that I'm Half-Blood. Please keep everything I tell you to yourself. I know twelve ways to poison you with out a trace._

I didn't doubt this for a second. He had access to ingredients even Professor Slughorn couldn't get.

_My father is a Muggle. My mother is one of the Princes, one of the most ancient family lines around here. It's a good thing she inherited before she decided to marry my father or she would have been disinherited. You have heard of the Princes?_

"Of course."

_Around the time of my birth, many of the old families felt additional power awakening within them. Some people say this is inherited magic from an ancient ancestor. Others believe the nature of magic changed, making some families more powerful. Every child in the Prince, Potter, Black and Malfoy families born that year was affected in some way. I was born deaf. Potter is practically blind without the glasses, according to my mother. Black is myopic and I don't think he can hear on the left side. When his friends call him he always turns to the right, a sign that his hearing is better in one ear than the other._

_I urge you not to tell anyone else of my condition. I'm a very private person and this does not concern anyone else. I've managed to keep it a secret from the professors. They believe that I am merely shy. The others in our house think that I just can't be bothered with them. This is the truth. The only reason that I trust you with the personal details of my life is that you are the one person who may be able to assist me. I need to either learn voiceless magic or I need to learn to speak. You're the cleverest student in our house. I've been watching you, and I know you don't volunteer information to people._

* * *

I kept my word and didn't reveal Severus's secret to anyone. We met after classes and on weekends several times a week. Some of the girls in my dorm accused me of sneaking around with a new boyfriend, but no one suspected that I was meeting Severus. At first we tried to do voiceless magic. I managed a few spells voiceless, but Severus didn't have too much luck with them. Since he hadn't mastered the spells, he just didn't have the focus to perform them without the incantation. Severus was becoming frustrated.

Through the tutoring sessions, we became friends. Every once in a while, he'd share snippets of his life story with me. From what I could piece together, Severus was born to Eileen Prince and a Muggle named Tobias Snape. His deafness was discovered rather late. He had already entered the neighbourhood school at Spinner's End before his parents suspected that anything was wrong. His father insisted that he become as normal as possible, since he thought that the "hand-waving nonsense was for freaks." At school, Severus worked exceptionally hard to learn to understand language through speechreading reading and writing. Although I have found some gaps in his knowledge, his near-photographic memory helped him remember sentence structure and grammar. He read constantly to improve his vocabulary.

Severus and I worked out a shorthand code to write messages quickly to each other. I started to use it to write down the lectures verbatim, though it probably looked like Alphabet soup to the uninitiated. At Christmastime, I ventured into Muggle London and found a book about sign language, which I charmed to demonstrate the different words. I gave it to Severus in January, and by February, we had both memorized it. We only used the signs when we were alone. I think Severus enjoyed having a means of conversation that didn't automatically leave a transcript. We experimented for a while to see if signs could be substituted for a spoken incantation. We had moderate success, enough to keep Severus from failing his classes, but we both knew he would have to speak in order to pass his OWLs.

Severus became my first patient in speech therapy. I had no experience and no idea where to begin. Our world had no books on the subject, so the rule "When in doubt go to the library," failed me. One evening, I was on the seventh floor, pacing while pondering this problem. Suddenly, a door appeared in the wall, leading to a room I had never seen before. It had a table, good lighting, mirrors, loud speakers, balloons, and about thirty books about speech production. I grabbed a copy of Daniel Ling's _Speech and the Hearing Impaired Child _and started to read. Luckily, like Severus, I have a great memory, some have described it as eidetic, meaning I remember what I hear, see, and feel. As curfew approached, I wondered aloud how to find this room again, when a scrap of parchment appeared in my hand.

_When Barnabas the Barmy's Trolls you are facing_

_Concentrate hard and begin your pacing._

_Focus upon what indeed you require,_

_This room will furnish your heart's desire._

From that day forward, Severus used the Room of Requirement for our tutoring sessions, which included learning to say the incantations properly. By the end of the year, he could say the spells. During class, he would only whisper them, but it was enough, and his marks improved dramatically. Through our remaining years at Hogwarts, I continued to help him with his speech, and eventually he became confident enough to speak to others. He learned to retaliate against Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Lupin and he even gave the Salutary address at graduation.

* * *

Severus let no one know of his condition. This got him into a bit of trouble, such as when he wasn't paying attention and inadvertently joined the Death Eaters. As soon as he realized what he had done, he approached Professor Dumbledore to get him out of it. Dumbledore left him in to spy for his not-so-secret organization, while serving as Potions Master at Hogwarts. Severus did not agree with the principles of the Dark Lord and his followers. He confided to me that he was thankful to be deaf, since he did not have to hear the screams of the victims on the nights of the Dark Revels.

I found a job at St. Mungo's hospital. I figured, this was the one place where I could make a difference in the world. I worked with the young children, who were an absolute joy. Several children had been brought because of vision problems and because they were late learning to speak. They were all from pureblood families. I learned Muggle techniques to test vision and hearing in young children. Many of them had some deficiency in their vision or hearing. It was easy enough for their parents to accept a pair of eyeglasses, but more difficult for them to accept anything beyond that. Often, I'd see the child only for an initial diagnosis, and then never hear from the family again.

I started to work in a hearing and speech clinic at a Muggle hospital in order to improve my techniques to help the children I came across. Many of the little ones would benefit from hearing aids, so I helped to procure them for magical children whose parents were willing to let them go into the Muggle world for a few hours. Of the dozens of people I saw, only two or three families ventured that far.

I'd return home to my parents' house in the evenings and we would discuss the news. Dad's office was being swamped with family court requests. Many purebloods had disowned their children for "birth defects". They were sent to a ministry run facility. My father believed that this was for the best and that society shouldn't be burdened with kids who couldn't see or hear or were missing limbs. I disagreed with this and we had ongoing debates over dinner.

* * *

I left home the night my father told me about the Malfoy's child. I had met young Surdus three days prior to test his hearing and vision. The child had beautiful grey eyes and white-blond hair. He was very observant and watchful. He kind of reminded me of Severus in the way that he carried himself. Like Severus, he was completely deaf. Lucius Malfoy got a strange look in his eye. He looked at the boy coldly and they left abruptly. Dad told me that Surdus was disowned and sent to the Asylum. Last night, it had been attacked and all of the children were brutally slaughtered, the Dark Mark burning over the ruins of the building. I was horrified! All of those children were dead. Dad kind of gave a dismissive gesture and said, "At least we don't have to look after them any more and Narcissa Malfoy is pregnant again, so Lucius will have his heir."

That was the last straw for me. I threw down my fork and stormed to my room, packing my belongings and shrinking them in less than ten minutes. I said a quick goodbye to my mother and apparated to the Hospital. I met with the head of my department, and he agreed to send all children whose parents seemed less than sympathetic to their children's plights to me, where I would have them placed with open-minded Muggles. It was the only way to protect the children. I found an apartment and subscribed to the daily prophet, but kept my distance from the magical world. I rejoined them for one day when I celebrated the fall of Voldemort. I continued to work with deaf children at the clinic. I went to university part-time and received my degree in speech-language pathology. Occasionally, St. Mungo's would send another child to me, and I'd make sure the child went to live with the best set of foster parents possible.

Through my contact with these children and a few Muggle-born witches and wizards, I did extensive research into how magical ability affects the development of language in a deaf or hard-of-hearing child. I found that magical children usually understand the intent of a message but not individual words or spells. The magical signature of a witch or wizard can project this intent to do magic or the intent to communicate an idea. Deaf children are able to use their magic to "read" the intent. It is not at all a substitution for language, but it aids the communication process. This explained why Severus could understand his mother but not his father all those years ago.

I lived my life with as little magic as possible. Occasionally, I'd take the Daily Prophet, just to keep up with the news. The only time I would use my magic was to charm hearing aids, and later, cochlear implants for my magical clients. Their magical signatures interfered with the technology, so I'd change them so they ran off of magical energy.

Three years ago, I met a wonderful man named JP LeBlanc and we dated steadily. Last month, we moved into a flat not too far from the clinic. JP worked for an importing company. I don't know how he would react if I told him I was a witch. I've managed to avoid most of the people in my past. Severus still writes, using his address at Spinner's End. He was more relieved than anyone when little Harry Potter did away with Voldemort. The life of a spy was hard for him. Dumbledore was manipulative, and he dreaded meeting with the Dark Lord in case he was discovered. He learned to put up mental walls for his own sanity.

The Boy Who Lived did so much for the world of my past. Now I had to confront it again in order to give something back to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters, settings, situations and the secondary world created by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter Series. I do not receive payment in any way for this work. No copyright infringement is intended. This story portrays an alternate universe from that of canon. Some creative license has been taken.**

_**Author's note: Many thanks to my beta, Hello Moto, who helped me improve this story immensely. I've adopted her convention of using **_**bold typeface****_ to indicate _sign language. "Bold in Quotes" _indicates signing while speaking._**

* * *

Over the course of the next week, my schedule had me so busy I barely had time to keep up with the paperwork. A new social worker had started in my area, so I was buried in new referrals. Counting Harry Potter, I had eight new referrals since the month began. They were of different ages, lived in different areas and had varying degrees of hearing loss.

In most referral cases, the parents would attend the early sessions with their child. Most parents know what programs the child is on at school or the different modes of communication that have been tried. Supportive parents are the key element for a deaf child's success. Kids do the best when the parents come to me to learn and then the therapy continues at home. Those kids learn language the same way that any other child does: from their families in everyday situations.

Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he was not in a supportive situation. His aunt's behavior that first session appalled me. She didn't even care enough to stay and answer a few questions for me. I would have to piece Harry's story together from the forms and reports in his file. For a ten-year-old, the folder contained relatively few papers. Sorting through the information, what was not inside the file told me almost as much as the reports. It didn't look as if Harry was taken on the circuit of various professionals that is so typical after a child's diagnosis.

The date on the oldest form in the file corresponded to Harry's third month of Reception. It was a discipline slip from his teacher:_Harry consistently refuses to do work with the rest of the group. He is constantly daydreaming and does not follow instructions. _Over the period of several months, more of these slips were added. Seven months into Harry's first year of school a guidance counselor finally referred him for a hearing test. The test proved that Harry could not hear any sound. What he perceived on the test, he most likely felt. He was five years old when they finally confirmed he was deaf. Most of my muggle clients were diagnosed within a year, sometimes even before leaving the hospital at birth.

The next pieces of paper in the file documented many visits to doctors, surgeons and specialists who deal with hearing impairments. Harry had seen specialists who came up with the diagnosis _Congenital sensorinerual hearing loss of unknown origin._ This phrase is common The typical parental response was to visit every last specialist in the area in the hope that the child could be "fixed". This was not the case for Harry. His antiquated hearing aid was proof.

The latter half of the file was Harry's school service plans. Although his marks were good in math, physical education, art and anything that didn't require reading or linguistic abilities, he was woefully behind in language development. Since no one had been aware of his disability in his early years of life, he had essentially learned no language until he entered school. Harry had the services of a special educator twice a week to work on his reading, but from the file it was apparent that this woman had little experience dealing with children who are deaf.

When Harry returned to my clinic the next Wednesday, it was obvious that he had not had a lot of opportunity to practice. I questioned him about this He signed that at school he could work on his speech, but he wasn't supposed to make sounds at home. Harry had a hard time with the concept that he was free to make noise. He was nervous, and every time he made a vocalization he looked around, as if he was expecting someone to jump out and tell him to stop. After playing some games designed to make Harry feel more comfortable with using his voice, we tried the next step: loud and soft.

There is a scene in the muggle play, The Miracle Worker, where Helen Keller, upon realizing that the wet liquid from the pump was water, realized that everything had a name. She ran from object to object touching items and waiting for the words that named them. Harry was like that in our session. He'd point to the pictures on my easel and demand to know the signs for those objects. He had an intense curiosity I had rarely seen. It was amazing that it hadn't been quelled by the Dursleys. He was so enthusiastic that neither of us realized that the session was over until I glanced absentmindedly at the clock. Harry's aunt was long overdue.

"**Harry, where is your aunt**?" I asked him.

**Home,** he signed back to me.

"**How are you getting home tonight? I know it's way too far to walk**."

S**he gave me a note to have explained. I don't know what some of the words are.** He held out a slip of paper, that explained that Harry was to be put on the number 9 bus outside of the clinic and the driver told to give him a transfer and let him off at the number 15 connection.

"**Have you ever taken a bus before?**" I asked. Unfortunately, he didn't understand the sign for bus. Judging from the address on his file and the letterhead of the school, I knew he walked to school. Many of the schools in his area only served a small community, so I wasn't certain he had even been exposed to the school bus. He asked for clarification of the sign I used, so I tried to explain it. In the back of my mind, I was wishing every curse I knew on Petunia Dursley. There was no way a child who didn't even know what a bus was could be expected to catch not one, but two buses in a bad part of town. How was she expecting him to understand that he had to transfer? I think Harry sensed my mood, since he looked a little afraid.

**Did I do something wrong?** he asked.

"**No**," I said as I tried to calm myself down. "**I can't let you take a bus from here. It's not safe for someone traveling alone. I'll drive you home tonight**."

Harry looked happy, but then fear clouded his eyes. **My Aunt be mad?**

"**I'll phone her to make sure it's alright**." I reassured him. "**Why don't you get your jacket on and find a few books to borrow for the week?**" The concept of borrowing books had a lot of appeal for Harry, so he went over to the shelf and looked through my selection. I stepped into the small room adjoining the clinic and dialed the Dursley's number on the phone. To my surprise, a male voice answered.

"Hello, Dursley residence, Vernon Speaking."

"Hello, Mr. Dursley. This is Alex Redding from the University Speech Clinic. May I please speak with your wife?"

On the other end, I heard the man call for Petunia, and then distinctly heard him say, "It's probably about that freak again. Wonder what this one wants."

"Hello." The voice was cool and crisp. I decided not to beat around the bush.

"Hello, Mrs. Dursley. This is Alex Redding. I'm calling you about Harry."

"What has he done now? I told him to behave himself."

"You misunderstand. He hasn't done anything wrong. I was just concerned about his transportation home tonight"

"Well, I'm not going to drive down all that way just to pick him up. I gave him bus fare."

"Mrs. Dursley, I'm only concerned about the boy's safety. That's a long way, with transfers. Not many bus drivers know sign language and he doesn't read or write very well. I was wondering if you would prefer that I drive him home after his sessions? I live fairly close to Surrey." This was a lie, but I figured what she didn't need to know that.

"If you'd like to. I don't want to inconvenience you. The child can take the bus after all."

"It's not an inconvenience at all. I don't mind one bit. Harry is always my last client on Wednesdays. However, I should warn you that occasionally I may run behind, especially if it is one of the weeks when I see three extra patients. I may have to spend some time doing paperwork."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll will see you when you drop off the boy."

"Thank you Mrs. Dursley."

She hung up the phone without further word, not even to find out when we were leaving.

I went back into the main room. Harry had a small stack of books chosen. He held them out and raised his eyebrows, as if asking further confirmation that he could take so many. I nodded to reaffirm him. "**Are you ready to go home**?"

He nodded once and went to gather his bookbag and coat. As he passed me, I could swear I heard his stomach growl. "**Are you hungry?**" I signed.

He looked surprised that I was asking. **I'm fine**, he replied. His stomach growled again, betraying his mask. He must have felt it and realized I could hear his stomach. **A little bit hungry, **he amended.

I locked the office and escorted him to my car. I don't like being in the parking lot longer than absolutely necessary, so I quickly got Harry settled into the back seat and set the vanity mirrors so we could communicate while I drove. As soon as we left the University area, I tried to get him to open up a bit. "**Do you like McDonald's?**" I used the sign that most of the kids in my clinic use, but he didn't recognize it. "**Hamburgers?**" I tried again. At his nod, I pulled off the main street to the road that would take me to the consumer district and the local McDonald's.

One of my clients worked at this particular restaurant. His primarily mode of communication was oral, and last year had received a cochlear implant, but he still had rather good signing skills that he acquired in High School. I would often take some of the younger kids over here to have them practice ordering in a restaurant, (with their parents' permission of course) and also to show them that they are not the only deaf people in the world. A glance at my watch confirmed that Andrew was working, so I decided to give Harry the opportunity to order his own dinner. Luckily, there was no line, and he was free.

"Hello, Andrew. I decided to bring Harry here for dinner so he could meet you. Would you mind taking his order in sign language?" Ordinarily, I would sign in Harry's presence, but I wanted this to be a surprise.

"Of course, Alex." He switched to sign. **Hello, what can I get for you? **

Harry's mouth dropped open so wide I'm sure I could have stuck an entire hamburger in it. Obviously, he had never met anyone else who signed beside his teachers, his aunt, and myself. He stood there staring for a full minute and then curiosity got the better of him. **Are you like me?**

Andrew understood the message, even if it was a bit vague. **Yes, I'm deaf, too, but I use my voice and am learning to hear through my implant. **Andrew turned around and indicated the external device. **What do you want to eat?**

Harry then turned to me. **I can choose myself? **He looked incredulous at this notion. I nodded and he thought for a minute. **Can I have a hamburger with cheese? I always wanted to try cheese on it. **

Andrew nodded. **Of course. Do you want ketchup, mustard, pickles or onions? Many kids don't like them.**

Harry thought for a second, then nodded. **I want to try them. **

I then ordered a Big Mac Combo and told Andrew to make it a Happy Meal. Since there was no one else waiting, Harry and Andrew continued to talk while we waited for our food. Harry had a million questions for Andrew, such as where he lived and who taught him to use his voice. Andrew was used to some of these questions and the almost hero worship that occurred, but some of Harry's questions were a little unusual, and almost disturbing: **At your house do you get to do things with the rest of the family? Are you a freak? **

Before Andrew could reply, the food was ready. Andrew was too concerned about Harry to say anything to him, but I could tell he was concerned. As he gathered up napkins and straws, he said, "There's something wrong with his family if he's asking that. He may need help." He switched back to sign. **I do lots of things with my family, Harry. Enjoy your food.**

**Thanks, **replied Harry. I indicated for him to choose a table and we sat down. Harry unwrapped his burger delicately and took the tiniest little bite from it. He savored it, holding it in his mouth for a while. I had finished my meal by the time he had eaten half of his burger. When he saw that I had stopped eating, he made a motion to put the rest of the burger down.

"**Harry, you can eat the whole burger and the French Fries. I'm not in a hurry. Finish your dinner." **He ate slowly but steadily, the whole time wearing a facial expression that looked like a cross between delight and fear. It was as if he couldn't believe that he could have the whole meal and was afraid that it would be taken away. Although I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, I couldn't help but ask him a few questions. "**Harry, what's your favorite food?"**

**This hamburger is the best thing I've ever tasted!**

**"Have you ever been here before?"**

He shook his head. **I usually stay with Mrs. Figg when my family goes out. **

**"Do you like her?"**

**She has a lot of cats and smells kind of funny.** I gently laughed.

"**Have they taken you anywhere?"**

**Sometimes, when Mrs. Figg is busy. I get to go to the store sometimes. Once I got to go with the school to a play, but that was because nobody had to pay. That was brilliant! They had a signer for me!**

This child had obviously had very few opportunities. I decided there that I would do my best to improve Harry's speech, but also his general life experiences. Before I could mention this to him, Andrew came over to our table bringing sundaes.

"**I have a short break now. I thought you'd like some ice cream. My treat." **

**Thank you! **signed Harry. He took a bite and his face erupted into a huge smile. He ate enthusiastically but was careful not to get any on his clothes, on the table or on his face. That was not usual behavior for any of the other kids I work with. While Harry was eating, Andrew asked him some more questions.

"**Harry, do you like sports?" **

**I like to watch, but I only play during games at school. **

**"Which ones do you like"**

**Football is my favorite. I wish I could play it more.**

**"Why not join the school team?"**

**I'm not allowed and Dudley wouldn't let me play. **

**"Who's Dudley?"**

**My cousin.**

The two conversed for a few more minutes, until it was time for Andrew to leave. As he left, he turned to me and said, "If you ever need a big brother or someone to do things with this one, just ask me. Take care of him. I don't think he as a good life at home."

I totally agreed with that assessment. I was reluctant to bring Harry back to his family, but knew there would be trouble if I didn't. Although I knew Harry wasn't treated the best, I didn't have enough suspicions to warrant removing him from the Dursleys. I did, however, drive the long way to Little Whinging to gather my thoughts.

I knocked on the door of Number 4 and Petunia Dursley opened the door and gestured to Harry to get inside. "Thanks for your trouble." Although the words were polite, I could tell she didn't really mean them. "You didn't have to drive him all this way. He could have taken the bus."

"It was no trouble, Mrs. Dursley. One day, I may have to have him take the bus home, but for now, I don't mind giving him a lift. I did wish to speak to you today, anyhow."

"Oh? What did he do now?" She glared at the boy. "Rest assured he will be punished if he misbehaves."

"Harry didn't do anything," I assured. "I'm just missing some information in Harry's file. If you don't mind, could I get that from you now?"

"I suppose." I could tell she was looking to get rid of me as soon as possible. She didn't even invite me in.

"First of all, there are a couple of medical matters. Does Harry's family have a history of hearing loss?"

She pursed her lips at the mention of Harry's family. "I don't believe so. His father could hear fine, but needed glasses like Harry. My sister could see and hear just fine, thank you very much."

"Has Harry ever been fitted with hearing aids other than the one he has now?"

She shook her head. "No. They're too expensive and not covered by my husband's insurance company. Thankfully, a third cousin had this model or he would have to go without."

"I need a daytime phone number for you both."

"You can reach me here. My husband can be reached at the Grunnings main office number. He's very important there." I was a bit surprised at this. Grunnings had one of the best insurance policies when it came to hearing aids and technology. I worked with two other children whose parents worked for Grunnings. Aside from a small deductible, their insurance covered most brands of hearing aids for 80 of the cost.

"Mrs. Dursley, I'm wondering if there is something we could do about the hearing aids. This one isn't working for Harry."

"I'm afraid it's out of the question. We just don't have that kind of money, and we don't take charity."

"I can accept that, Mrs. Dursley. I only have one final question. Do you know what program the school is using with Harry?"

She shook her head. "You'll have to contact them to find that out. I cannot possibly remember something like that. I'm very busy keeping track of my Dudley's schooling."

"Alright. I'll do that. Thank you for your help." I turned and said goodbye to Harry. **I'll see you next week.**

When I arrived at home, I was exhausted. Dealing with Petunia Dursley will never be on my list of favorite ways to spend an afternoon. Aside from the outright lies about the hearing aids and the ignorance of Harry's schooling, I just got a bad vibe from her. Harry Potter deserved better than that woman and her family.

Jean Pierre was already home from work. Over the month or so we had lived together, he had learned my habits and could tell I'd had a difficult day. He greeted me with a kiss, took off my coat and guided me to the living room. We sat on the couch together with a plate of sandwiches

"How was work?" he asked, handing me a sandwich. I was still hungry in spite of the Big Mac I had earlier.

"Alright, I guess." Jean Pierre could tell there was more to it than I was letting on. Normally I'd go on in a lot of detail

"Want to talk about it?" he asked in his mildly accented English.

I nodded, but only gave him a few details. "I'm just concerned about a new client. I suspect his home life isn't the greatest, and I think he deserves better. He doesn't even have a decent hearing aid. When I asked about it, the child's aunt said that their insurance wouldn't pay for it, but I know that they will."

"I take it they wouldn't accept donated ones?" He was referring to a program I had started to provide free hearing aids to those that need them. Many times, children outgrow hearing aids or their needs change, so I have them reconditioned and given to families that need them.

"No way. These people are very proud. If their noses were higher in the air, they'd drown when it rains."

"Maybe you could get them into a clinical trial or something. That is not the same as charity."

"That's a good idea. Thanks."

JP started to massage my shoulders. I started to relax. It was too bad I couldn't discuss the greater significance of this particular client, but even sharing part of my concerns felt good.

"Oh, there was a call for you about an hour ago. The new social worker in the area wants to meet you at the office at 9."

"I'd like to meet him too. He's sent eight new clients to me in the last month."

"Here's the message if you want it." He handed the piece of paper to me. On it was written: _9 AM, Office, R.J. Lupin._

* * *

_**Many apologies for not updating this in four months. I started taking classes again while working full time. I also suffer from having a muse that is most active when I am supposed to be asleep. I will do my best to be more timely with the next one. Once again, thanks to Hello Moto for helping me remember my audience. Without her, this chapter would have read an awful lot like a paper for my class. **_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: The characters and secondary world of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Raincoast books. No profit is being made from this story.**

_Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait between updates. I recently moved, started a new job and now have to move again. Many thanks to Hello Moto for betaing . Next chapter will definately be up MUCH sooner (It's already written, but needs some revisions.)_

I woke up a bit earlier than usual the next morning. Not wanting to wake JP, I brewed a fresh pot of coffee and left him a note on the table then drove to the office while the sun came up. I took a couple of minutes to update Harry's file with the information that his aunt had given me, adding my own observations, then grabbed the files I needed for my meeting and started to get ready for it.

Giving the room a critical glance, I realized that it needed some tidying. I hadn't done my usual cleaning in my haste to get Harry home. Some of the games had been knocked over, and the bookshelf was in disarray. I put the books back neatly and then turned my attention to the dowel games that I use with the younger kids. Unfortunately, some of the pegs and dowels had been knocked under the radiator, so I was on my hands and knees retrieving them when Mr. Lupin arrived. He startled me just as I was straightening up, and I accidentally knocked my head against a shelving unit that was above the radiator. "Ouch!" I exclaimed, rubbing my head.

"Are you alright?"

"No permanent damage done," I replied. "Don't worry, I'm getting used to it. That's the third time this month that I hit my head on those shelves."

"Perhaps you should get some different shelves, or maybe some padding," he quipped. "I'm the new social worker, Remus Lupin."

"Alex Redding." I shook his proffered hand. "Please come in, Mr. Lupin, and call me Alex. Whenever my supervisor calls me Ms. Redding I have flashbacks back to detentions in school."

He chuckled at that. "It's Remus. I always feel so old when people call me Mr. Lupin. "

I led him over to the table where I had stacked the files and motioned for him to sit down. "I'm glad you arranged this meeting. I wanted to find out who has made me so busy in the past month." I tried to keep my tone light, but Remus could sense the edge to my voice.

"I do apologize for sending you so many referrals. Before I can tell you why, could you confirm some information for me. I want to make sure you are the Alex Redding that I think you are. Tell me, where did you attend secondary school?"

Knowing there were Muggles around, I decided the best answer would be to use the code name we were given for Hogwarts. "Sir Poudlard's School for the Gifted. Weren't you also a student there?"

Remus gave a smile and a nod. "Yes, I was. Could you also confirm to me the name of the student who exploded lab equipment in 'chemistry' during our second class?"

"Peter Pettigrew's entire experiment blew up, but I think the duo of Potter and Black made a few measuring vials explode during that same class. Did I pass?" I jokingly asked.

"With flying colors. I had forgotten about James and Sirius's prank that day, though. I suppose you're wondering why I decided to make you the busiest speech clinician in the United Kingdom?"

"An explanation would be nice," I said somewhat sarcastically. "I just love being buried in paperwork."

"No wonder you were a Slytherin. Sarcasm is lost on most Gryffindors. I thought I recognized your name from our school days, so I sent these kids to you. You know what they're going to be facing when they start attending our Alma Mater."

"How did you find all of them?"

"Aha, very clever. I used Ministry records to find the children and cross referenced it with my lists of children with special needs. I'm not working for Dumbledore, if that's what you mean. He doesn't know everything, contrary to public opinion."

"You're more perceptive than most Gryffindors. I did have that in mind. But I thought you supported our Headmaster."

"I do respect the man, and I am grateful for what he has done for me, but he doesn't know how to deal with people with disabilities. In my experience, he addresses the problem, not the person. In my case, that wasn't so bad. I had a good family who respected me regardless of my difficulties, but I'm concerned about children who are thrust in a new world not certain how to react. They need coping skills, and Dumbledore is definitely not the one to provide them. Others, especially the "pure" society are intolerant and dismissive of anyone who isn't their idea of perfect, and these types have too much influence at the school."

"I can see that. Why are you so passionate about this? I know your lycan tendencies may be part of it, but you never took interest in the plight of others when we were in school?"

"How did you..."

"Oh get over it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out you were away every full moon. I worked it out second year."

"Did anyone else in your house?" He looked a bit panicky at the prospect.

"I don't think so, besides Severus, but that was after that trick Black played on him. I can assure you he didn't tell anyone then, and I doubt he'd bother to now."

"You still keep in touch with Snape? What's he up to now?"

"Teaching P... er... Chemistry at the old school."

"He was always the best in our year at ...Chemistry.. Good for him. .. Anyway to answer your question, since I now have control over my illness, I realize that I was kind of a jerk back in our school days. I know what it's like to face challenges in that setting, and I decided I want to give back to the community. Kind of a way to settle the karmic forces in the universe. I get benefit from my medicine, now I have to do good for others."

"That's nice. Really goody-goody, but nice. So shall we get to work? We have eight files to get through. Do you have any preference on the order that we discuss them?"

"No. I have to admit I'm curious about them."

"Did you read the names before making the referrals to me, or did you just use a spell?"

"I spelled the referrals to you. I've met three of the children, but not the others."

With this news, I decided to put Harry's folder at the end. We spent two hours going through the other files. I had to get them able to speak incantations without causing suspicion from the families. Muggleborn students aren't informed of their magical abilities until their Hogwarts letters arrive. Remus noticed that some of the materials I use require the kids to repeat nonsense words. I could easily slip some of the more common Latin phrases into those lessons. Since the oldest one was nine, I had a few years before I had to worry about them at Hogwarts.

At last, only Harry's file remained.

"This is the last one. Harry Potter. I think you should read the file before we start talking though." Remus was obviously a bit surprised by the name. I recalled that James Potter and Remus Lupin were very close at school. Had he known Harry when he was young? Was he aware that he was deaf? Maybe Remus could help his situation somehow.

It took Remus a few minutes to get through the file. He was meticulous in making notes. When he was finished, he looked rather disturbed. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke. " I wish I could have spared him this," he sighed.

"You were good friends with the Potters. What was Harry like when he was little?"

He smiled as he recalled the memory. "He was a very happy baby. James and Lily doted on him. James was always doing something to get him to smile. His godfather, Sirius, was worse. He was constantly making faces or playing tricks. He was one of the most affectionate children that I ever met. He was pretty quiet. Lily said that he stopped crying and fussing after he was about three months old."

"Did you realize he was deaf back then?"

" I guess I may have suspected, but I was in denial. I know Sirius wouldn't have suspected anything. It took him four years to realize James wore glasses. Looking back, I never saw him turn towards a sound, but he always knew when we entered a room. I wish I could have taken him in when his parents died."

"What do you know of his aunt and uncle?"

"I haven't met them yet. They haven't bothered to keep any appointments. I remember Petunia from when we were younger. Even then, she had little tolerance for anything or anyone different."

"I've met her twice. Yesterday, she didn't bother to pick Harry up after his session. She wanted him to take the bus, so I brought him home myself. Let's just say she still doesn't cherish diversity. The husband almost seems worse. Harry told me he's not allowed to make noise, so he can't practice his speech at home. He's also really nervous about touching anything. Most kids come in here and start playing. Harry waited until I gave him permission, and even then, I think he was scared I would change my mind."

"Do you think he's being abused?"

"I'm not sure. Physically, he's a bit small for his age, but Lily was pretty delicate when she was little. I'm more concerned about his mental state." I proceeded to tell Remus about last week's trip to MacDonald's and his conversations with Andrew. "Then there's this business about Harry's hearing aids. Petunia told me they can't afford the expense, but they had two brand-new cars in the driveway and I happen to know that Grunnings has really good insurance. Some of my other clients' parents work there. Come to think of it, I've only seen him dressed in old, baggy clothes, too. Money doesn't look to be a problem, considering the neighborhood they live in, and the state of Petunia's designer clothing."

Remus looked concerned. "They probably give him the bare minimums. I can't believe he'd never had a cheeseburger before. I'm definitely going to look up on him."

"That would be a good idea. How's your sign language?"

"It's fairly good. I can hold my own in a conversation, but probably wouldn't be considered eloquent."

"Good. You'll be able to talk with him directly then. His speechreading is minimal. I think he can understand the intent of magical people and squibs, but not Muggles."

"Do you think he'll be ready for school next year?"

"I'm not going to lie to you. He's going to need to work really hard. The speech aspect of his education is important, but won't be critical until his third year or so. I'm more concerned about his language skills. He's seriously behind. Even in first year, the spell books are beyond what he can read now. The vocabulary is difficult, and there aren't signs for many of the concepts, unless they've invented some in recent years. I'll look into that. He'll have a hard time, but he's a hard worker. The boarding school environment will be good for him."

"You mean being away from the Dursleys will be good for him."

"Exactly." At that moment my stomach started to growl. I looked down at my watch and discovered it was almost time for lunch. "Remus, do you want to go and get something to eat with me? We could find a place where we can reminisce about our school days."

"That sounds great. Do you have a place in mind.?"

"How about the pub down the street? The food is great there, and its popular enough that there should be enough noise to cover what we're saying."

I put away all the files except for Harry's and locked the office behind us. The pub was busy as usual. As an added bonus, there was a group playing Dungeons and Dragons in the corner. They were regulars at this place, so I knew that if we started talking about magic, people would think we were talking about the game. Talk of wizards and spells was not out of the ordinary. The first time I went in, I almost said something about transfiguration, but caught myself just in time. In spite of the lunch crowd, we were able to get a table quickly and placed our orders.

Remus looked around. "This place kind of reminds me of the Three Broomsticks, but without the exploding drinks."

"I thought the same thing when I found this place. I treat myself to lunch here once a week. The food's similar to the Leaky Cauldron. I haven't been there in years."

"I get to Diagon Alley on occasion for work, but I try to avoid the wizarding world as much as possible. I have too many painful memories of most of the places around there. I guess I'll have to confront some of my demons, now, for Harry's sake. I have been wondering what has become of him."

"I bet a lot of people have. There's a lot of speculation from what I've seen in the Prophet."

"What do you think Harry knows of our world? I met Petunia at James and Lily's wedding. Lily had a Muggle ceremony because her sister refused to attend otherwise."

"Harry doesn't seem to know about magic at all. I asked him about a story we were reading and he told me there was no such thing as magic."

"That doesn't really surprise me. I wonder what the laws are about disclosing the magical world to children being raised by people who are already aware of it but are clearly in denial."

"Maybe there's a clause or something in the Statute of Secrecy." We chuckled about that for a few seconds. "Remus, I think you're going to have your work cut out for you. When are you scheduled to see Harry?"

"Not for about two months, by the current schedule. I'm on rotation to the different schools in the area."

"Do the regulations say you have to see him at school?"

"No, it's just that's usually the most convenient place."

Why don't you come to Harry's next therapy session on Wednesday. I'll call his aunt and say I'm running late so you can spend some time with him before I drop him off."

"That's a good idea. You can also introduce us. It may make him more at ease to have someone familiar around."

We agreed that Remus would come back to meet Harry after his scheduled therapy session. After returning to the office and completing the paperwork, Remus left and I spent the afternoon working with clients.

When I got home, JP hadn't arrived from his job downtown, so I cooked some pasta and set about making a salad. It was good to see someone from the wizarding world again, but it made me realize how much I had isolated myself from the world. At least the prophet made me aware of some of the current issues and who was in power at the ministry. I wondered if, for the sake of clients like Harry, I should be making more of an effort to find out about the day-to-day life of the magical world.

My thoughts were interrupted when Jean Pierre arrived home. I greeted him with a kiss and led him to the table, which was set and started serving the meal I had prepared.

"Alex, Quelle surprise!"

"We hardly ever eat together anymore. Honestly, I think we saw each other more when we weren't living together. How was your day?"

"It was busy. I had a client in from Bulgaria. He spent the day making me believe he did not speak English or French. I tried using pictures and pantomime to communicate with him. I even was using some of the signs you taught me. Then, when it was time for him to leave, he wished me farewell in perfect French! He thought it was funny."

"At least you're working with someone who has a sense of humor."

"Yes. I hope the other people in Bulgaria appreciate him. He is selling his business to our firm because he is entering politics."

"Of course. Well, at least he isn't as staid as Tony Blair."

"That's true. How did your meetings with this Lupin fellow go?"

"Very well. It turned out he was in my year at school, but at a different house. That's why he sent me so many new clients, because he thought he recognized my name and knew I could serve these kids' needs."

"That must have been nice to meet up with someone from your school. You don't often talk about your school friends, except that Severus fellow, the chemistry teacher."

"It was nice. I'm thinking I may need to make the effort to get into contact with more people from my school to keep up with the news. Meeting with Remus made me realize how out of touch I am with everyone."

"Perhaps this Lupin fellow will be able to put you back in touch with your friends."

We spent the rest of the meal talking about work and then relaxed in front of the television for a while. Remus Lupin had given me a number of things to think about, but at least, I now had someone else that would support Harry.

_A/N: Deaf babies stop vocalizing and babbling because they don't hear the distant responses to their voice and if someone isn't there immediately, they don't realize the connection between making noises and seeing family or getting what they want. After a while they think that no one is responding to them, so there is no point to using their voice. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am merely trying to play with the characters a little.**

_Author's note: Please note that this chapter is unbeta'ed. My beta , Hello Moto, and I have been exceedingly busy. When we both have the chance, I will work with her to improve the chapter and replace it with the more finished version. _

_As before _**bold** _indicates sign language and _**"bold in quotes"** _indicates simultaneous speech and sign._

* * *

The week passed quickly. Finally Harry arrived at the clinic. This time, his Aunt had arranged for one of the school secretaries who lived in the area to drop him off on the way home. She, at least, had the decency to walk him into the clinic and make certain he got to where he was supposed to be going.

**"Good Afternoon, Harry. How was your week?" **I asked him in speech and sign.

**Good. We played football.**

**"That's really good. Did you practice your speech?"**

**A little. Mrs. M lets me talk with her at lunch. She's nice. **The woman accompanying Harry blushed a little. She obviously knew enough sign to know what Harry was saying.

"I'm Mrs. MacIntosh. Petunia Dursley asked me if I could drop him off here every week. I don't mind. Harry's such a sweet child. It's the least I can do for him."

**"Thank you for bringing him Mrs. MacIntosh." **I make it a habit to sign what I say to adults. It gives me more credibility with the children to include them on the conversations.

"It really is no trouble for me. If Harry needs a ride any other time, just contact me at the school. This building is right on my way home."

"**I'll be sure to do that. Thank you." **She turned to leave, but her willingness to help gave me an idea that I would have to discuss with Remus. "**So Harry, Let's hear your voice."**

Harry worked exceptionally hard that session. He got a good grasp on loud and soft and practicing different durations of noise. We even moved on to making different vowel sounds. Harry naturally made the "aw" sound and we worked on "ee" and "oo" as well. After last week, I had also decided to spend the last fifteen minutes of each lesson working on vocabulary. I checked the words he had learned the previous week. He retained about 90 of them, which was very good for not being able to reinforce them daily. I had chosen a couple of story books with some common words and phrases in them for Harry to work with. I figured it would be a good idea to introduce the written forms of the words as well.

Remus arrived right on time. I had just finished reading the second book to Harry, who had returned my other books. It took a few minutes for Harry to notice him, since he was so focused on the stories. I finished the story with him, put the books in his bag, and then motioned for Remus to join us. At first Harry was a bit shy, but he was curious about the stranger in the room.

"**Harry, this is a friend of mine, Remus Lupin. His job is to come and talk to kids. He wanted to come and meet you today."**

**"Hi, Harry," **said Remus as he reached into his pocket. " **Call me Remus.****" **He demonstrated his name sign. **"It's good to see you. I brought something for you." **He took out a small Muggle photograph and passed it to Harry. It was a picture of James and Lilly when they were about fifteen or sixteen. Harry took it and looked a bit puzzled. "**I used to go to school with your parents. I thought you would like to see them when they were young," **Remus explained.

Harry's green eyes widened. For a full minute, he just stared at the picture, not able to do or say anything. Finally, he managed to sign. **Thank you! Thank you! I... I never saw my parents before. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon told me not to ask questions. One time I needed a picture for school, but they didn't have one. **He continued to stare at the photograph.

I blinked back a few tears. Imagine, never knowing what your parents looked like. "It's worse than I thought," I mumbled to Remus. Harry was now looking from his mother to his father in the picture, lighly brushing their faces with his fingertips.

"I don't have any grounds to investigate them yet. Maybe Harry will talk to me about them. In the mean time, I need to find a way to see him before I get to the school. The sooner I can get involved the better."

"I'll recommend a second therapy session per week. You can take most of the time from that, but I need to spend at least ten minutes with him so I can do the paperwork honestly. The woman who dropped him off today is willing to drive him, and I bring him home."

"I always finish early on Fridays. For some reason, school personnel don't like to hang around then. I'm sure payment will be an issue for Petunia, so just tell her that it's covered under the budget or something. I'll make sure the funding is in place."

Remus led Harry over to the comfortable chairs in the corner and told him about what James was like as a child. Harry drank in every word. He reveled in the attention he was getting. Once again, I wondered what the child's home life was like. I made my way into the office to call Petunia Dursley and get a couple of extra hours before I had to take him home. Knowing her aversion to do anything for the boy, a story formed in my head. A rude, young man answered the phone and shouted for his mother. It took a moment for Petunia to pick up.

"Hello, Mrs. Dursley?"

"Yes, this is she."

"It's Alex Redding from the clinic. I'm calling to tell you I'm running late. It may be a couple of hours before I can get Harry home."

"Why? Is the boy being difficult?"

"Oh no, he's being an absolute angel. You see, a new social worker has been assigned to the area and he picked tonight as the best time to drop in and introduce himself and now he wants to go over paperwork. I told him about our arrangement for Harry, but he doesn't have any time this week at all, and some of the documents he has are time sensitive for budget meetings. Harry is content to do his homework while we meet, but was concerned about upsetting you."

"How late are you going to be. I have plans this evening."

"I'm thinking we can get through this in an hour, two tops. I'll make sure to have Harry home by seven, even if it means cutting Mr. Lupin off."

"That would be acceptable. I won't be able to postpone dinner though, as my husband and son also have plans for the evening. He'll have to eat leftovers when he arrives."

"I'll be sure to tell him that. Oh, Mrs. Dursley, the social worker also works at Harry's school and he has recommended that Harry receive additional therapy, since he only has a year before changing schools. We are concerned that Harry's delayed language will hinder his progress at secondary school."

"It's not going to cost me anything is it? I wouldn't be allowing Harry to go to you if I have to pay anything."

"Mr. Lupin assured me that it's covered in his budget. I have an opening on Fridays at four. Of course, I can drive him home again afterwards."

"I'll have to check with my husband, of course, and also see if I can make an arrangement with the woman who dropped him off today. Dudley has several different activities on Friday, so I couldn't possibly add another commitment to my schedule." I smiled, knowing that would not be a problem.

"Why don't you discuss it with your husband and give me an answer when I drop Harry off tonight?"

"Alright, I will. Is there anything else?" JP's idea of a clinical trial for hearing aids then popped into my head. Maybe I could start the process with Remus's help.

"Just one more thing. I understand your situation with regard to Harry's hearing aids. I have a couple of contacts at Phonak and Starkey which are developing new models. Would you be adverse to Harry's participation in a clinical trial for new types of hearing aids? He would receive them free of charge in exchange for information about how they feel, his progress with them, and any improvements that could be made. Harry would have to work for them."

"Hmmm. As long as there are no costs to myself and my husband and I, and it is a genuine program, you may look into it for him. We do not accept charity."

"Alright. I've got to get off the phone. Mr. Lupin is glaring at me. I'll see you at seven." I could hear a click at the other end of the line.

Remus and Harry were still talking about James. They were talking about some of the pranks that James had played with his friends. "**...and so the cat was blue for the next three days." **

**"Now, Remus, we don't want Harry to get any ideas about turning his neighbor's cat blue."**

**I won't turn a cat blue. I turned my teacher's hair blue, once. My aunt and uncle were really angry. **

Remus and I exchanged glances. Human transfiguration was rather advanced as far as accidental magic went. I wish we could tell him that he was a wizard.

**"Harry, do you have any homework?" **He shook his head. **"Good, I told your Aunt that you'd have it done by the time you got home." **

**I don't have to leave now do I? **

**"Nope. I knew you'd want some time to talk with Remus, so I told your Aunt you'd be home at seven."**

**I like Remus. He tells good stories.**

**"Harry, would you like to come here more often so you can talk to Mr. Lupin and me and maybe Andrew?"**

Harry thought for a minute and nodded his head. **I like it here. **

**"I asked your Aunt if you can come on Fridays, too. She said she'll let me know when I bring you home."**

Remus muttered to me, "Good move. She has a hard time saying no if it will make her look bad in front of the neighbors. **I'm usually free on Friday afternoons. I'd like to spend some more time with you now, Harry. In a few weeks, I'll be coming to your school, but I think we need to get to know each other better.****"**

I took that as my cue to leave the two alone for a while and finish my paperwork from the day. It didn't take me long, but it gave them a chance to talk a while. When I was done, there was still about half an hour before we had to leave, so I decided to call my contacts at the hearing aid companies to look into clinical trials. Although it was late, my contacts were in America, so they were available. By the time I went back to Harry and Remus, I had arranged for two digital hearing aids to be delivered to the clinic by Harry's appointment on Friday. I even had faxed forms that stated the terms of the clinical trial for the Dursleys to sign.

Harry was telling a story to Remus this time. I caught the end of it.

**... And then Dudley told the teacher I did it, and I had to stay inside. Then Uncle Vernon came and got mad at me and I got punished.**

**"What did Uncle Vernon do to punish you, Harry?" **asked Remus.

**No food and I had to go to my cupboard after school. **Wait. Did Harry sign cupboard instead of room? I had been telling him a story that afternoon about playing hide and seek and cupboard was one of the words I taught him.

Remus was also a bit confused. "**Don't you mean you had to go to your room?"**

**No. Dudley has a room. I have a cupboard. **He went into his bag and retrieved one of the books we had read before Remus arrived. He turned to the page and pointed. **Like this. **My heart sank. What were those people doing to the child?

I exchanged a look with Remus and then decided to tell Harry and Remus about the hearing aids. "**Harry, I just got off the phone to a friend in America. How would you like new hearing aids?"**

**What's 'hearing aids'? **He copied the sign I had used.

I indicated his present equipment. **"That's one kind of hearing aid. But these new ones will fit behind your ears. Some people in America are going to send you new hearing aids so you can try them out for them."**

**"That's really exciting," **said Remus. **"You'll probably be able to hear some sounds."**

**Really? **Harry was excited by this possibility. **I could hear sounds?**

I nodded. "**Most likeley. I need to make some models of your ears to send to America so the hearing aids fit properly, OK?"**

**OK. I really want to hear sounds. **

Harry was very patient as I checked his ears for any red spots or problems that woud prevent me form making the impressions. They were fine at present, but I noticed a lot of unusual scarring on his ear drum, as if it had ruptured then healed several times. I put a cotton plug into Harry's ear, prepared the silicone and used the special syringe to fill the ear with pink goo. After ten minutes, I was able to to take it out. I repeated the process for the second ear. To make sure I got the shape right, I compared it to Harry's old hearing aid insets. The shapes weren't the same at all.

"**You were very good, Harry. Have you done that before?" **I asked.

He shook his head no.

"**Not even when you got this hearing aid?" **

**No. They just made me put the things in my ears. **

**"Didn't that hurt."**

**A little. I got used to it. **

I exchanged another worried glance with Remus. He looked a little confused so I gestured that I'd tell him later. Once again, Harry's stomach started to rumble. Looking at the clock, I noticed w'e had enough time for a trip to McDonald's before I had to drive Harry home. **"Harry, I think we better get ready to go. Do you want to stop at McDonald's before you go home?"**

**Can Remus come too?**

**"You'll have to ask him."**

**Can you come with us to MacDonald's? Please?**

**"Of course, cub. I don't have any other plans."**

Harry repeated one of the signs. **Cub. Cub. What does Cub mean?**

**"It's what you call a young bear or wolf. I used to call you that when you were little."**

**You met me when I was little? Was I a freak when I was little?**

Remus looked shocked. **"Harry, you're not a freak. You never were a freak."**

**Yes I am. Dumb. Freak. Stupid. Nobody wants me.**

"**Who told you that?"**demanded Remus.

**Uncle Vernon. He said I'm a freak. Nobody ever wanted me. Dudley said my parents died because they didn't want me.**

**"Harry, that's not true! You're parents wanted you so much. You made them very happy when you were born. You made us all very happy."** Remus remained calm and kept the anger out of his face and his signing, but I could hear a low growl to his words.

**But I don't hear and I don't talk. I'm a freak!**

This time, it was my turn to calm him down. "**Harry, that doesn't make you a freak. It makes you deaf. There's nothing wrong with being deaf."**

**Dudley says I'm stupid because I can't hear.**

**"Dudley is wrong. You're very smart. You remember words very well, you just haven't had as much of a chance to learn them as someone with good hearing."**

**Uncle Vernon says I'm a freak because I can't talk.**

**"He's wrong too. You're learning to talk. It may take a while, but you'll learn. Harry, is Andrew a freak?"**

**No. **

**"He had to learn to talk, like you are. I taught him, just like I'm teaching you. Harry, I work with lots of deaf kids. None of them are freaks. You are not a freak."**

**I'm not?**

**"No. You're a smart, funny, kind boy who happens to be deaf." **I said.

**No one ever told me I was smart.**

**"No one?" **Remus asked. **"Not even your teacher?"**

Harry shook his head. **He doesn't talk to me. He doesn't sign.**

**"What do you do in class then?" **asked Remus.

**Look at pictures. Do sheets. Make art projects. I work on reading with my reading teacher. Can we go to MacDonald's now?**

**"Of course, Harry,**" I said.

Remus decided to ride with me to MacDonald's and to travel with us to Surrey. When we pulled into the restaurant, I was pleased to see that Andrew was on duty. Harry confidently queued up in the line before Andrew's register. When it was his turn, he needed no prompting.

**One cheeseburger happy meal, please. Hi Andrew.**

Andrew was pleased to see him. **"Well, if it isn't my favorite customer! How are you?"**

**Good. I played football this week in school."**

**"Good for you. Hi Alex."**

**"Hi Andrew. This is Remus. We're doing some work together. Remus, this is Andrew, one of my star clients."**

**"I'm only this good because she's a good speech therapist. What can I get you?"**We placed our orders and waited for the food. As he passed me the tray, Andrew told me, "I get off in about 10 minutes. If you don't mind, I'll talk with Harry."

"I'm sure he'd like that. By the way, do you work on Fridays? I'm trying to convince Harry's family to let him have another session of speech per week, but I was thinking you and Remus could use the time instead. Just as long as you get him to use his voice."

"I do work on Friday, but only until four."

"That's perfect timing then. I'll talk to you after Harry is finished eating."

We found a table for four and started to eat the food. Again, Harry savored every bite of his meal. He was just too neat for a ten-year-old kid. We kept the talk light. When Andrew joined us, he decided to treat Harry to ice cream again. He turned off the speech processor of his implant and started to chat with Harry in sign language. This left Remus and I to talk about Harry's outburst before he left.

"What do you make of the things Harry said in the office?" I asked.

"I'm more than a little concerned. Some things just don't add up. That cupboard remark disturbed me. Especially since he went out of his way to show he had the word right."

"I'm concerned about his self-esteem. With the questions he asked Andrew last week combined with his comments tonight, it's pretty obvious there's some psychological abuse going on in his home. Is that enough to warrant his removal from the Dursleys?"

"If he had any physical scars, it would be a lot easier. The authorities aren't all that willing to act unless there is physical evidence of abuse. I'm afraid they may get some lawyer to say that it's all in his head. It's happened before."

"You'd think that the word of the child should be enough, along with the suspicious stories they tell."

"I'm going to go to my supervisor with this one. You and Andrew may need to act as witnesses if we can do anything. Unfortunately, an outdated hearing aid doesn't necessarily mean a case of neglect."

"That's true, but making a child use someone else's custom earpieces, might. At best, they're uncomfortable. At worst, they cause blisters that get infected. When I took the impressions of Harry's ears, I noticed they were a completely different shape from the earpieces of his hearing aid. I think they made him use them as is."

"Did you notice anything else unusual?"

"Just some weird scarring on his eardrums. The only time I've seen that before was on a child from Indonesia who had recently moved here. She didn't have medical care as a young child and had frequent ear problems. She had surgery eventually. I' m not exactly an expert, but I wonder if those people ever bothered treating his earaches as a small child."

"This just keeps getting more complicated. Unfortunately, it's all speculation. Do you mind that I'm tagging along to Surrey with you?"

"Not at all, but just be aware that I blamed our lateness on you."

Harry was just about finished with his ice cream, and noticed we had stopped talking. Andrew turned his processor back on.

"**You mentioned something about Fridays?"**

**"Yes, Andrew. Would you mind giving Harry some time then. Maybe once a month, we can arrange for you to have a longer outing."**

**"Sure, no problem. My shift ends at 4, so I'll be by the clinic around 4:30 then. See you then, pal."**

**OK. See you Andrew.**

We climbed into my car and headed for Surrey. Remus and Harry talked some more about James while I watched the road. We soon arrived at Privet Drive. Before I could knock on the door, Harry reached out and gave me a hug, then turned and gave one to Remus.

**Thanks for the picture. That's the best thing anyone gave me.**

**"You're welcome, Harry. I'm glad you liked it," **replied Remus.

I gathered my wits and knocked at the door. Harry had gone quiet, as if he was afraid. I made a mental note of his behavior.

Petunia opened the door. She didn't scowl, but she wasn't exactly friendly either.

"I do apologize for the delay today, Mrs. Dursley. I do have some good news for you. My contact at Starkey came through, and they will accept Harry as part of their clinical trial program. All you need to do is sign this permission form, because Harry is under twenty-one."

Petunia took the form and gave it the once-over. "You're sure I won't have to pay for anything, and it's not charity?"

"I give you my word."

She glowered at me, but took the pen I had offered her. Once her signature was obtained, she turned her attention to Remus.

"And who are you?"

"I'm Remus Lupin. I'm the social worker assigned to the local school."

"Oh, it's your fault the boy was so late tonight."

"Yes, I do apologize for that. I came here to introduce myself. When Harry's school gets on my rotation, I hope to have a meeting with you and your husband."

Petunia stared at Remus oddly. "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked.

Remus shook his head. "I don't believe so, but we may have met in passing. In my line of work, I tour a lot of schools and speak to a lot of groups."

Nice cover, I thought.

"You just look vaguely familiar. Anyhow, as I mentioned, I do have plans, so I should get ready." She made a motion to close the door.

"Before we go, did you ask your husband about the additional therapy?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. He doesn't mind as long as there's no cost and we don't have to worry about transportation. However, sometimes we do go away for the weekend and on those occasions, you may have to drop Harry off at his sitter's place around the corner. Would that be a problem?"

"Of course not. Have a good night, ma'am. Tell Harry I'll see him on Friday."This time, Petunia did not put on any airs of politeness. She closed the door in our faces. "So, what do you think?" I asked Remus as we walked to the car.

"She's just like I remembered, only worse. I'm glad she couldn't quite place me, or she may not have agreed to the extra sessions."

"Did you get the impression she was trying to hide Harry?"

"Definitely. It doesn't make sense. They are obviously fairly well off, judging from the car in the driveway and this neighbourhood. But Harry looks like he's never had a new item of clothing or adequate hearing aids. They're constantly avoiding spending money on him . And I didn't like that comment about Harry's sitter. They take the other boy but leave Harry behind?"

"My mother would have called her the worst sort of Muggle."

"I'm going to be speaking to my supervisor first thing in the morning. If the Muggle system can't do anything, we may have to look to the magical world for help."

* * *

_Author's Note 2: I can't believe it's been over a year since I started this story. Many thanks for all your support, patience and reviews. _


	6. Chapter 6

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**Author's Note: The characters, settings and secondary world portrayed in this story are the property of JK Rowling, Raincoast Books/ Schoolastic and Warner Brothers. No profit is being made. **

**This work of fiction portrays an alternate universe to the one portrayed in the beloved Harry Potter Series, therefore creative license may be used in the creation of this story. **

* * *

Over the next two days I was constantly busy with meetings, therapy sessions, and work in general. Remus called me late on Thursday with the unfortunate news that he wasn't able to do anything for Harry through Social Services. There just wasn't enough evidence against the Dursleys to launch an investigation. He encouraged me to document anything that I found unusual or suspicious. I took a few moments and jotted down some notes about what I had seen the day before. Remus was still investigating recourse through the Ministry of Magic. He was trying to find out through an old classmate of ours if we could tell Harry anything ourselves, but for now he suggested to keep quiet.

Harry's hearing aids also arrived late Thursday afternoon. I checked over the box, read over the instruction booklets and brought the programming software to the clinic audiologist, arranging an appointment for Harry at the beginning of his next session with me. Even though it may take time to get the hearing aids set up, I knew they would make a difference in the long run.

Harry's arrival at four o'clock was marked with organized chaos. Remus arrived at the last possible minute, so he was a blur of flying papers, books and pens. Mrs. MacIntosh had a sheaf of papers for Harry's file, which I couldn't locate right away due to the work on my desk that I had been doing earlier. The audiologist's receptionist dropped by to escort us to Harry's appointment, and Andrew showed up earlier than expected. It took several minutes to organize everyone. Andrew agreed to wait in my room with Remus and give him a refresher course in Sign Language. Mrs. MacIntosh assured herself that everything was fine and then went on her way. I escorted Harry to the audiology wing of the clinic.

The first thing my colleague, Linda, did was give Harry hearing test so she could set the limits on his hearing aids. She then fussed around on her computer to program the aids, so I turned my attention to the ear molds. I held my breath as I slid them into Harry's ears. They went in smoothly and appeared fine. "How do the molds feel?" I asked, indicating the pieces in his ears.

**Good! I can barely tell they're in my ears! **replied Harry. **They don't push on my ear like my other ones. **

I smiled and turned to my attention back to Linda. "These are nice!" she exclaimed. "Lots of features, space for different programs, lots of power and digital tuning for thirty two frequencies. I've pushed the high ones to the max, but don't know how much he'll get from them. Probably only a bite of the speech banana."

I smiled at the joke. If you plot the frequency and average decibel level of all the sounds in English on an audiogram, the shape they take resembles a banana.

"Anything we can give him is an improvement," I assured her. Then, noticing we were being watched, I remembered to sign. **"We're almost ready. Linda just programmed your hearing aids. Are you ready to try them out?"**

Harry nodded enthusiastically. **I'm ready. Does it hurt? **

Linda shook her head. "No, it's not painful, but some people find it kind of weird at first." Linda only knew the basics of sign language so I translated this for him. "Ok, let's get started. Harry, sit down."

Harry climbed onto the stool next to the computer. Linda attached the molds to the hearing aids, but left the wires connected to the computer so she could make adjustments. She nodded at me and I switched the hearing aids on.

"**Harry, can you hear me?" **I said, signing at the same time.

Almost at once, Harry's eyes went as wide as saucers. Emotions flickered rapidly across his face: shock, apprehension, and finally, pure, unbridled joy. **I can hear something! I can hear! **The signs were filled with wonder and surprise. These were probably the first voices Harry had ever heard. I felt my eyes misting up, realizing how life-changing this moment was for Harry.

Linda then proceeded to check Harry's aided hearing by giving him a hearing test through the speakers in her office. We made adjustments and made sure the hearing aids fit perfectly. In the end we realized he couldn't hear much more than indistinct voices and some environmental sounds – not enough to understand speech but a vast improvement over what he had before. At least he would know when someone was talking to him.

We must have made quite a racket walking from one end of the building to the other. Harry experimented with his voice and asked me to make noises. For a moment, he got in front of me, and I called out his name. He stopped in his tracks, and then turned to me in surprise.

**I heard you. You were behind me! I could tell you wanted me when I couldn't see you!**

I could tell from the excitement in Harry's face that this was the first time this happened. The thought of communicating when one couldn't see was new to him.

I pointed out some of the louder sounds to him as they occurred: a car backfiring, the sound of a janitor's cart being pushed next to us, a baby crying. Once I pointed them out, he was able to hear them a little, but his brain was still not trained to respond to sound. It would take some work.

When we arrived, Remus and Andrew were having a signed conversation. I noticed that Andrew had taken off his speech processor. He later told me it was so Remus couldn't cheat and speak in English. I waved to get their attention. Andrew quickly replaced his processor over his ear and grinned at Harry. **"Nice hearing aids!" **He said with a smile. Harry beamed.

I spent the next twenty minutes getting the others to make sounds behind Harry's back and checking to see if he responded to the sound. At first, he wasn't sure that he was hearing them or not, but after several repetitions, he started responding more and more. It would take practice. When we were finished Harry was exhausted. He had been concentrating so hard that I could see his shoulders tense. On our way down the hall, I noticed most of my colleagues were gone for the weekend, so I suggested we all leave early and go to the park. Andrew grabbed the football from one of my shelves and chatted with Harry while I locked up my office.

"**So, what's your favorite subject at school?" **Andrew asked.

Harry thought for a minute. **Music, **he answered. He must have seen the puzzled look on our faces, because he then expanded. **My music teacher signs. She shows me the words and signs the songs. And she gave me a drum instead of a recorder so I can feel it when we play music. That's the best class because I can do what everyone else does. **

Andrew smiled at that. **"What about phys ed? Do you like it?" **

Harry nodded. **It's fun, but I get picked last all the time**.

"**Why is that?" **asked Andrew. **"You told me you scored two goals in football." **

Harry grinned.** I'm a good player, but my cousin isn't. He won't let people pick me before him and he's always second last. The other kids listen to him. He'll beat them up if they don't. **

Andrew's expression became worried**. "Does he beat you up too?" **

Harry shrugged his shoulders. **I'm faster than him, but sometimes he gets me. **

"**What does he do?" **I motioned to Remus to pay attention. Andrew was giving us more insight into what was going on in the Dursley home.

Harry thought for a minute**. He hits me. He punched me in the face before. Once he hurt my arm, but it got better before I went to the doctor. And sometimes my side hurts if he jumps on me, but I go to sleep and get better. **

Remus and I exchanged looks. Obviously things weren't great at home for Harry. I only hoped that his cousin was the only one getting physical. This was more than Harry had disclosed to either of us. Maybe it was because Andrew was so young, not really an adult. He knew how to ask without being threatening.

Andrew tried to get Harry to talk about his family some more, but he just gave simple yes and no answers, so he turned the conversation back to school. **"What other subjects do you like, Harry?" **

**Math is fun when we do sheets, but I don't understand the ones with words. Most of the time I sit and do my work while the teacher talks to the class. I like my reading teacher, but she only comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. **

Remus pulled me aside. "I'm going to rearrange my schedule to get to Little Whinging on Monday. He'll never be ready for Hogwarts if he's shoved aside and only gets reading instruction twice a week. I bet they don't even have anyone to sign for him outside of music class."

Soon, we turned our attention to playing football. There was much laughter at my expense. Sometimes I'd fall right over when trying to kick the ball. Andrew set up some passing drills for Harry. Remus was in goal. It was fun being able to run and jump like a child again. I also could detect a lightness to Harry's steps.

Soon, the sun began to set and I realized that it was almost time to get Harry back home. I got the others' attention**. "It's getting kind of late. I'll have to bring Harry home soon. Anyone want to come to dinner with us?" **

"**Of course, I'll come. Anything beats my cooking. I once burned water when making tea," **said Remus.

Andrew nodded. **"As long as we can eat some place other than McDonald's." ** He smiled wryly. **"I had five shifts this week and I can't face another Big Mac." **

Remus smiled. **"I know the feeling. I once worked at a candy store and by the time I left, I couldn't stand the smell of chocolate. And I love chocolate.**" We all laughed at that.

I turned to Harry**. "Is there anything in particular that you want to eat?" **Harry just shook his head.

Andrew then indicated a building across the street. **"What about pizza? My friends and I eat over there all the time." **

We quickly agreed and entered the small pizzeria to discover we were not the only customers. Groups of teenagers and young adults were sitting at tables and booths. It took a few minutes for us to be seated, so I ducked outside to call Harry's aunt from a pay phone while we were waiting. I let it ring for several minutes, but there was no answer. When I returned, the others had been seated at a table. I tapped Harry on the shoulder. "**I just tried to call your aunt, but she didn't answer the phone. Will she worry if you're late?" **

Harry shook his head._ I forgot. I have to go to Mrs. Figg's house today. My aunt and uncle are going away. _

"**Where are they going?" **I asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. **I missed it when they told me. But they told me about four times that I was going to stay with Mrs. Figg this weekend. **

I nodded, remembering that Petunia had mentioned this possibility. **"I should call Mrs. Figg and let her know you'll be late. Do you know her number?" **

Harry shook his head. I glanced at the directory, but there were no Figgs on Privet Drive. I made a mental note to ask for it when we dropped Harry off that evening. Since Petunia had mentioned it at all, I had a feeling Harry stayed with Mrs. Figg fairly regularly.

It didn't take long for our order to arrive. Because it's next to impossible for four people to agree on pizza toppings, we ordered two pies with different toppings on each half. Harry tried a small slice of each. He ate every bite, even finishing Reus's green olive and anchovy pizza. We chatted more about sports and relived some of my more enthusiastic attempts at trying to kick the football.

Soon, I found myself alone with Harry in the car. He directed me to Mrs. Figg's. She lived in a small house on Wisteria Walk. The garden was neat and there were several cats lolling on the stoop and watching us from the windows. Although Harry tried to convince me that he was fine on his own, I insisted on walking him to the door.

It only took a moment for her to reach the door once I had knocked. She was a pleasant but elderly woman, a little bit frail, but had a genuine smile for Harry. She motioned for him to go in the house. "Hello, I'm Arabella Figg," she introduced herself.

"Alexandra Redding. I'm Harry's speech therapist."

"Yes, Petunia mentioned you'd be dropping Harry off. She called me in a hurry this afternoon, hoping I could watch him for the weekend. I don't mind, he's never any trouble, but she's been giving me less and less notice."

"Does she leave Harry with you often?"

Mrs. Figg nodded. "He's over here at least once a week. Lately the Dursleys have been leaving for the weekends, too. The cats seem to enjoy his company. And I like having the child around. Even if he doesn't speak, we have our ways of communicating. I like to give him a bit of a break, too. That woman has him constantly doing one chore or another. The little monster of hers never lifts a finger." She turned bright red. "Oops, I shouldn't have said that. She's a little touchy about 'Duddykins'. Won't hear a word against him, even though he's a bully. My cats steer clear of him. Cats are very fine judges of character, you know."

I nodded, mentally filing the information about the chores and frequency of Harry's visits. "I have to tell you that I'm concerned about him. Do you notice anything untoward happening over at that house?"

Mrs. Figg thought for a moment. "Nothing I could prove. They don't give him much affection. Petunia kind of drags and pushes him from one place to another. Petunia knows only the basics in sign language and neither Vernon nor Dudley has bothered to learn more than the curse words. I don't think they hurt him, but they don't show him any affection, but lavish attention on Dudley. Sometimes I don't see Harry for days at a time. I usually watch the kids walk to and from school, just to keep my eye on things."

I nodded. "A friend of mine has taken an interest in Harry's case. He's a social worker. Could I give him your name if he has any questions?" I then realized that I didn't have any means of contacting her. "Oh, I should also get your number, in case I run late when I bring Harry home. I tried to call Petunia today but there was no answer."

She smiled. "Of course. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing each other very often." She went into the kitchen and wrote her number down twice for me; one to keep and the other to give to Remus. I turned to leave watching Harry take his place in the middle of a wriggling pile of cats. For once, he looked contented as I left.

* * *

_Author's note: A reviewer pointed out to me recently that it has been over two years since I have updated this story. I do give all my loyal followers my sincere apologies. When I started this story, I had based the main character loosely on a friend of mine who worked in a clinic setting. Since then, I've become an itinerant teacher of students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and it has become more challenging to keep my character and my job separate. There were also times that my muse felt that I need a vacation from work, and would not inspire me with regards to this story._

_I have actually seen a few people get hearing aids for the first time, and their faces looked a lot like Harry's in this chapter. With his hearing aids, Harry will be able to tell that people are talking to him but not what they say. Do a google search for unfair hearing test and listen to the first example for more information._


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